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The Shave

ca. 1945

born, Philadelphia, 1910; died New York City, 1981

Hirsch did not so much address pointed political and social themes as he did portray individual characters. The Shave, a close-up study of a man’s heavily wrinkled head and neck, is both humorous and poignant—alluding, it would seem, to a hard life lived and of the innate will to endure.

Oil on board

12 ½ x 8 ½ in.

Gift of Allan and Nenette Harvey

2011.21.2

Provenance: [Associated American Artists, New York, ca. 1945-1947]; sold to donor, ca. 1947

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Seattle Collects Paintings: Works from Private Collections", May 22 - September 7, 1997, no checklist number (as Man Shaving, 1945)

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